Special Programs
ACTIVE AUSTRALIA PROGRAM
Each year some of our Year 6 students are provided with the opportunity to be trained as Active Australia sports leaders. Once they have completed their training they are allocated in pairs or small groups to the Pre-school, Junior or Middle School class. The Active Australia leaders are then responsible for planning, organising and implementing (under teacher supervision) a half-hour sports lesson to this class each week. This culminates in the running of a fun Active Australia mini-carnival. Through the program our Year 6 leaders develop strong leadership skills and cooperative behaviours are strengthened throughout the school.
JAPANESE
Students at Campbell Preschool and in K-Yr3 have one Japanese lesson per week and Yr4 –6 students have two lessons per week. Our school participates in a Japanese continuity program with Campbell High, which caters for students who wish to continue with Japanese after Year 6. The Japanese program has a strong intercultural focus (meaning that language and culture are treated as a single entity), with equal weighting given to oral and written skills in the middle and senior years. Campbell Primary participates in the volunteer Japanese assistant program each year, so lessons are team-taught by the Japanese teacher and an assistant from Japan. As well as weekly lessons, students also participate in a range of other activities such as an annual excursion to the Nihongo Tanken Sydney Language Centre (Year 5/6), origami crane making for Peace Day and various lunchtime Japanese clubs. Our school has a twin school, Tomio Minami in Canberra's sister city Nara in Japan. Samples of student work as well as photographic displays are exchanged, enabling students to learn about another culture.
MUSIC PROGRAMS
Classes at Campbell Primary participate in the “Hand in Hand” singing program, strengthening ties with the community. The program is coordinated by a specialist music teacher who also teaches the Junior and Senior School Choirs. Music skills are further developed by class teachers as students progress through the school.
Private Tuition - Private instrumental tuition is available through the P&C music tutor program, which provides individual and group lessons in school time in a range of instruments. Tutors are recruited mainly from the Canberra School of Music (CSM) and are experienced in working in Canberra schools. Students have the opportunity to perform individually or as members of an ensemble at a variety of venues including:
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• school assemblies and special functions Further information about this program is provided in our Information Handbook. |
Instrumental Music Program - Campbell Primary School is a member of the ACT Instrumental Music Program. The Instrumental Music Program (I.M.P) is a section of the Department of Education which provides our school (and many others in the ACT) with a package of services designed to supplement the music education of up to 22 selected students in Years 5 and 6. At Campbell Primary School we currently have a Year 5 and a Year 6 brass band. To enter the band program, students are assessed at the end of Year 4 for musical strengths (including ability to differentiate pitch, rhythm and dynamics) and classroom work habits. Then early in the following year, placements are offered to 22 students. The Instrumental Music Program provides the school with a specialist band teacher for two sessions a week during class time and the loan of instruments for the duration of the program. Students also have two follow up lessons with the school band teacher during lunchtime.
ROCK AND WATER
The Rock and Water Program at Campbell Primary School provides social skills training for young people, with a focus on centering and grounding, communication, assertiveness and self-control.
Based on the principles of safety and integrity, the four main goals of the program are:
• To assist adolescents in their transition to adulthood, towards becoming authentic, responsible members of society.
• Self-realization which derives from self-confidence and trust in oneself – the trust to listen to one’s own feelings, intuition and the inner voice which gives direction and guidance in one’s journey through life.
• The development of morality.
• Dealing with power, strength and powerlessness.
At Campbell Primary we teach our Year 6 girls and boys in separate groups physical, mental and social strategies for
• self-defence
• standing up for yourself
• awareness of personal responsibilities and qualities
• tuning in to the inner compass which directs personal development, the forces within
• awareness of the inner undercurrent, connectivity and solidarity.
These strategies assist girls and boys to reflect on ways they could or should respond in certain situations, as well as some basic self-defence exercises. Self-reflection is an important and integral part of the program.
SKILLS FOR GROWING
Skills for Growing is a comprehensive personal and social development program for K to 6 which develops in students the essential skills and dispositions necessary to navigate through the challenges of growing up in a complex world.
The program helps to prepare young people to lead healthy lives by working with the key influences in a child’s world – primarily the school, the home, the peer group and the community. Children are taught specific skills that contribute to positive social behaviours and citizenship.
These include learning how to:
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get along with others
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communicate effectively
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develop self-confidence
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solve problems
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make healthy decisions
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think critically
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care about and help others
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say no to negative influences
The skills are taught explicitly through the school curriculum while practice opportunities are provided through school community participation, role playing and modeling of behaviours, within the context of a positive and emotionally safe environment.
The Skills for Growing Program is an integral part of the curriculum which encompasses learning that takes place outside of formal class lessons, as well as the day-to-day interactions which take place in the school. Skills for Growing at Campbell Primary School contributes to a shared language and helps to enhance and maintain a school culture of student participation in leadership & respect for self & others.
STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES
Defence School Transition Aide (DSTA)
The Defence School Transition Aide Program provides support to children of Australian Defence Force (ADF) Members and their families, particularly during their transition into and out of a school on posting.
A Defence School Transition Aide is not a teacher but a member of the school team. The DSTA assists children and parents to quickly become part of the school community. They answer basic questions about the school and provide a link from families to the school. They also help build the school’s long term capacity to support mobile children and their families.
English as a Second Language (ESL)
Campbell Primary School provides specialist teaching for students from linguistic and culturally diverse backgrounds. The specialist teacher works collaboratively with mainstream teachers on programs and issues that affect ESL students. Such programs may include withdrawal programs, team teaching in classrooms and consultation with class teachers on programming and bilingual approaches. The ESL teacher implements effective programs for ESL learners to develop their English language competency for learning across the curriculum and full participation in the wider community.
Learning Assistance
Children requiring additional support to develop appropriate skills in literacy and numeracy are able to receive special tuition from the Reading Recovery teacher and the Learning Assistance teacher.
School Counsellor
Campbell Primary School has the services of a school counsellor for one day each week. Counsellors have a range of skills which enable them to assist students, parents and teachers with issues that can affect the student’s educational progress and adjustment including, for example:
• learning difficulties
• behaviour management
• special education services
• social skills
• family relationships
• grief and loss
• personal development
• protective behaviours
• transition across sectors
• conflict resolution
• gifted and talented students
The school counsellor can be contacted by phoning the school on 6205 6300.
Special Needs Team
The special needs team consists of the principal, deputy principal, executive teacher, school counsellor and student advocate. The team meets once each week to address the needs of specific students. Each class teacher meets with the special needs team regularly to ensure the needs of their students are being met.
TOURNAMENT OF MINDS (TOMS)
Tournament of Minds is an inter-school problem solving program for teams of students in Yrs 4-6. Teams are required to solve demanding, open-ended challenges from one of the following disciplines: Language Literature, Maths Engineering, Social Sciences.
Tournament of Minds is an opportunity for students with a passion for learning and problem solving to demonstrate their skills and talents in an exciting, vibrant, and public way. TOMS’ aim is to enhance the potential of our youth by developing diverse skills, enterprise, time management, and the discipline to work collaboratively within a challenging and competitive environment.
Campbell Primary School participates in this program every year.
